Most of the kids showed up for school yesterday despite the cold. We had assembly indoors as it was too cold outside. School went fine. And we got some sun at 9:30 just as the kids were starting their "shram daan".
It seems there are still a lot of kids seeking admissions. So we've decided to take in 40 kids in nursery and have two classes instead of one. One batch will study during the first half of the school and the second batch during the second half. We spread the word that we are willing to take in 10 more kids for nursery and there's already a big queue outside and it's only 7:45 am! We had called them at 9:00!
Thank God the sun is out already. It was 8 degrees indoor all night and it's still only 9 degrees. It must be at least 6 or 7 outdoors. Of course, it's not as cold as Delhi perhaps. But the tin roofs somehow make the rooms colder.
Amie's tummy is still giving her trouble. I hope she gets completely cured before she starts travelling again! Dani and Tak seem to be fine though I suspect they are overdoing their yoga!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
BRRRRRRRRRR!!!
6:45 am: Had this been summer, I'd be in class teaching. But it's winter and I'm glad school will not start for another hour and three quarters. It's very, very cold. It's 9 degrees on the veranda and 8 degrees out in the open. There's a very strong wind blowing that's icy cold and strong enough to rattle the roofing sheets. At times it sounds like a storm! I've got layers of thermals on and yet, I'm chilled to the bone. I'm wondering how the children are going to come to school in this weather. I know most of them will show up because they are new and it's the first day of school for them. Most don't wear warm clothes. I wish I had known it was going to be this cold today. I would have certainly declared it a holiday.
I've been up since 4:30 am monitoring Mitali's progress to Kolkata. Because of traffic jams on the Durgapur highway her bus did not reach Kolkata till 5:30 am. I'm pleased with the delay. Or else she would have reached Kolkata in the dark at 4:00 am I would have been rather concerned about her taxi ride home. Dawn was breaking when she arrived and she was home by 6:00 am. Thank God she did not have a relapse on the bus.
Shanku and Suman have been up since 5:45 am. Shanku is busy cooking breakfast. Suman is doing all the other things that he does -- filling up water, etc. etc. Now that Shanku does most if not all of the cooking, Suman seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands. But he does keep himself busy.
The volunteers are fast asleep it seems. They asked me to wake them up as soon as I woke up. I was kind to them and did not knock on their door till 6:15. It's almost 7:00 and there's still no sign of them. I don't blame them. It's bitterly cold outdoors and I'm sure they are quite snug in their beds under the quilt. They'll be up and about once breakfast is ready.
I'm worried about the children. I wish they do the sensible thing and not come to school....
I've been up since 4:30 am monitoring Mitali's progress to Kolkata. Because of traffic jams on the Durgapur highway her bus did not reach Kolkata till 5:30 am. I'm pleased with the delay. Or else she would have reached Kolkata in the dark at 4:00 am I would have been rather concerned about her taxi ride home. Dawn was breaking when she arrived and she was home by 6:00 am. Thank God she did not have a relapse on the bus.
Shanku and Suman have been up since 5:45 am. Shanku is busy cooking breakfast. Suman is doing all the other things that he does -- filling up water, etc. etc. Now that Shanku does most if not all of the cooking, Suman seems to have a lot of spare time on his hands. But he does keep himself busy.
The volunteers are fast asleep it seems. They asked me to wake them up as soon as I woke up. I was kind to them and did not knock on their door till 6:15. It's almost 7:00 and there's still no sign of them. I don't blame them. It's bitterly cold outdoors and I'm sure they are quite snug in their beds under the quilt. They'll be up and about once breakfast is ready.
I'm worried about the children. I wish they do the sensible thing and not come to school....
Monday, January 11, 2010
Yoga and Apple Sauce
Mitali left a little while ago for Kolkata. She left early because Bhola, who is driving her to Godda to catch the bus, needs to run a few errands too. He also has to take her to see an ayurvedic doctor. She hasn't been well. Had a bad cold yesterday and was running a temperature. She's well enough to travel back to Kolkata, but we are all concerned.
It's bitterly cold here today. The newspapers say that it's below 8 degrees, but it feels like sub zero because of the chill winds that are blowing. Even though the sun rose late, it's impossible to sit out in the sun because of the wind. It's bone-chilling.
I'm glad I spent all morning indoors dealing with admissions. There was such a huge rush that Bhola and Shanku had to do a bit of crowd controlling! We had to turn away quite a few parents and their wards. We now have 30 children in Nursery, 20 in Class 1, 14 each in classes 2 and 3 and 11 in Class 4. Most of the new entrants are from Kaldo, a village beyond Burhikura.
While admissions were going on, the volunteers conducted classes as usual. Once the admissions were over, I taught in Class 4. Raiman did no show up today. But it did not matter because the Nursery kids did not have school today as their classroom was being used for admission interviews. We'll have to impress upon Raiman that he should take his jon as a Nursery school teacher a bit more seriously.
At the moment Dani and Tak are getting ready to do their yoga practise. Ever since their stay at Shivananda Ashram in Kerala, they have been doing yoga rather seriously. I wish I had continued with my yoga so that I could join them. A little while ago they were helping Amie make apple sauce. I've never had any before and so am looking forward to tasting some.
It's bitterly cold here today. The newspapers say that it's below 8 degrees, but it feels like sub zero because of the chill winds that are blowing. Even though the sun rose late, it's impossible to sit out in the sun because of the wind. It's bone-chilling.
I'm glad I spent all morning indoors dealing with admissions. There was such a huge rush that Bhola and Shanku had to do a bit of crowd controlling! We had to turn away quite a few parents and their wards. We now have 30 children in Nursery, 20 in Class 1, 14 each in classes 2 and 3 and 11 in Class 4. Most of the new entrants are from Kaldo, a village beyond Burhikura.
While admissions were going on, the volunteers conducted classes as usual. Once the admissions were over, I taught in Class 4. Raiman did no show up today. But it did not matter because the Nursery kids did not have school today as their classroom was being used for admission interviews. We'll have to impress upon Raiman that he should take his jon as a Nursery school teacher a bit more seriously.
At the moment Dani and Tak are getting ready to do their yoga practise. Ever since their stay at Shivananda Ashram in Kerala, they have been doing yoga rather seriously. I wish I had continued with my yoga so that I could join them. A little while ago they were helping Amie make apple sauce. I've never had any before and so am looking forward to tasting some.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Happy New Year: 2010
So, here it is: the first blog of 2010 on the 10th day of the month. I apologize to regular readers (if there are any) for not writing more often. But you can expect more frequent updates this year. And that's a promise I hope to keep.Life has been rather hectic for the past few weeks. I had gone to Kolkata on the 23rd to celebrate Christmas with Amie, Mitali and Raj. We had a great time. We attended a party, had lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant and saw a movie - Avatar. Time just flew by and soon it was time for Amie to return to the project. She left Kolkata on the 26th. I stayed on and returned to the project with Neera on the 30th.
Neera Kapoor is one of Dakshinayan's trustees. And this was her first visit to the project and Jharkhand. We travelled via Bolpur by train and taxi and so were here on the same day a little after lunch. Too late to see the school (a few kids were attending school even after the exams), but since she was staying for such a short while, she got a few more hours to enjoy the peace and quiet of the project. Neera did get to meet the children on the 31st -- the last day of the year.
On the 31st we had a bonfire in the evening. We drank Pepsi Cola and stuffed our faces with very tasty pakoras that Bhola had made. It was cold and so it was good to sit near the fire and chat. We went to bed at 10:00 and greeted the new year the following morning which was chilly and windy. No school that day, but the children showed up to celebrate the new year by having a picnic on the campus. They brought their own rice and dal and vegetables and cooked themselves khichri. Amie, Neera and I spent the whole day catching the sun.Neera and I went back to Kolkata on the 2nd via the same route -- Bhola's taxi to Bolpur and then a train to Kolkata. We parted ways at the station. Neera went to the airport to catch her flight to Delhi and I went home to Mitali's. Neera's flight, however, did not take off till dawn the next morning! There was too much fog in Delhi and most flights had been delayed or cancelled.
I stayed on in Kolkata and waited for Dani and Tak who were expected to arrive on the 4th evening by train from Goa. As it turned out, they flew into Kolkata on the evening of the 5th. So on the 6th Dani and Tak, Mitali and I took a train to Bolpur and drove to the project and arrived soon after nightfall.
We took it easy on the 7th. On the 8th we had re-admissions and that kept me busy all morning. Out of the 86 children who were with us last year, 58 children got re-admitted for this academic year. Since we won't have class 5 this year, there should have been at least 80 children seeking re-admission. I wonder what happened to the rest. Perhaps they will show up tomorrow when we are going to admit new chidren. As things stand, we now have 8 children in Nursery (we'll take in 12 more), 18 children in Class 1 (we can admit two more), 9 children in Class 2, 13 in class 3 and 10 in Class 4. Since we have now switched to Hindi medium, we may be able to take in a few children in Classes 2 and 3.
So that's how things have been so far. It's a Sunday today. A lazy day. Everyone woke up late. But became active soon after. Dani, Tak and Amie have gone with Bhola to Roldih and other villages to inform parents about tomorrows admission. Mitali is trying out the new travel pillow she has acquired while sitting on the swing chair that Dani and Tak brought for me. I'm writing this blog and wondering when I'll get another cup of tea. Perhaps I should yell out to Shanku to make me some tea. He came back to the the project on the 8th. Some of you may remember that he used to work in Roldih when Chandan was the coordinator. Bhola had him recalled because Suman has become a little "unreliable" of late. Bhola feels there needs to be a "back-up" just in case Suman decides to go AWOL again like he did in the days following Christmas!
Kartik, who is now a "teacher" along with Radha and Raiman, spend a lot of time on the project too. It's nice to have him around. Unfortunately, none of the other kids from last year's Class 4 come around. I'd be happy to give them English lessons every day and I've already told them.Anyway, that's all from me for today. Hope the 2010 has started off on a good note for all of you.
Children receiving their report cards.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A quick update
It's quiet on the project. Suman's in the kitchen. Mitali is washing her hair. Bhola and Amie have gone to Godda to buy new books for the kids. We are switching to teaching Science and Social Studies in Hindi and Amie has kindly offered to buy them for the school. While there Bhola will also pick up a few things we need for the project. Hopefully they'll be back by lunch time.
Amie has had a bug in her stomach for the past couple of days. We don't know what brought on the diarrhoa. I certainly don't want her to eat anything in Godda except food. She lived on boiled banana for a whole day yesterday and today, hopefully, she will be able to consume some "real" food. Of course, for her real food is chocolates!
The kids haven't come to school because the final exams finished yesterday and we declared today a holiday. Bhola will bring some printed report cards from Godda and we will be handing out results on Monday. All the kids in classes 3 and 4 have passed. Some kids in classes 1 and 2 have failed. And almost half of nursery has failed! So we will only be able to admit 10 new kids for next year if those who failed stay on. Admissions of the old children will take place on the 8th. Then we'll know how many kids are going to be re-admitted to school. There's some rumours that quite a few Burhikura kids are planning to join the school in Devdand. I don't know why. But I presume it's because they aren't able to cope with the standard of education here. In fact, most of the children who failed in the lower classes are from Burhikura. But now that we are switching to Hindi medium, perhaps they will stay?
Personally, I feel school did not go very well this year because of lack of teachers. Even though the class 4 children did a much better job of teaching than any "teacher" we hired, somehow the parents of the children -- especially the ones from Burhikura, did not take them seriously. Could this be one reason why they have decided to send their children to Devdand? We'll know on the 8th. Sometimes rumours are just that -- rumours.
There will be no Class V next year. Lalita and Prahlad are going to join Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Devdand. Radha, Anajana and Kartik have decided to take private tuitions in a coaching class in Devdand and then appear for their Matric Exams. Raiman wishes to join the mission school in Agiya Mor but since his father isn't here, he said he will stay at home for a year before resuming his studies. But won't he forget everything in a year's time? Hence, we've come up with a solution for him. He'll be coming to school here like he used to. He'll teach the Nursery children for an hour and half and then hang around and study till school is over. We'll pay him a small amount for teaching Nursery. This way he can save up money for his schooling and also stay in touch with studies.
We have also decided to retain Kartik and Radha as "teachers". They can come to teach in the morning and go for their coaching classes in the evening. We'll give them an honorarium which will help them to buy books, pay for coaching, etc. Mitali, Bhola and I talked to them yesterday after the exams were over and they are very happy to continue being involved with the school.
I'm quite happy with this arrangement and so is everyone else.
On Monday Amie, Mitali and I are leaving for Kolkata. We hope to spend Christmas there. Mitali has invited us to a party a friend of her's is throwing. I haven't been to a party for ages and I'm quite looking forward to it. Amie is glad that she will be able to spend that time in a city where she can be online and in touch with her family. She's looking forward to the party and to meeting a few new people. Bhola is also leaving with us. But he's going to Ranchi to pick up two of the laptops that Intel has donated. He'll be back on Wednesday. School will be closed meanwhile. From Thursday, however, the children will be coming to school and familiarizing themselves with the new books and also so a bit of "shram daan" around the project. The trees need to be watered, grass needs to be cut and the new classrooms cleaned up in preparation for next year.
Amie will be back on the project on the 27th. I'll return on the 30th with Neera Kapoor, a friend and also one of Dakshinayan's Trustees. This will be her first visit to the project. She'll spend a couple of days here. She and I will then return to Kolkata from where she will catch a flight to Delhi. I'll stay on till the 6th and then return to the project with Dani and Tak and then perhaps stay on till the end of the month.
One of the reasons why I have not been writing the blog is that I have been away from the project quite often. And another reason is that while I'm here, I've been quite ill. In fact, I have just recovered from yet another bout of malaria. Come to think of it, I've actually been continuously unwell since the start of November! Hopefully, I will stay well over the coming days. I don't wish to miss the Christmas party and I certainly don't will to be ill when we step in to the new year.
For the time being, I have shelved the idea of starting the orphanage/old age home. It will require a lot of commitment, energy and resouces and quite frankly I am not sure I am up to it at the moment. I'm thinking more along the lines of starting a vocational trainning school in Bolpur. Let's see how things shape up. But one thing I'm certain about is that I will no longer stay continuously on the project. I'll most likely set up base in Bolpur towards the start of 2010 and visit the project every now and then. I'm sure Bhola, Kartik and Radha and the volunteers will be able to run the show. And in any case, I'll be round the corner if I'm needed. I feel if we have just one more teacher, we will be all set to move into the new year at the new pace.
Well, that's all from me for the moment. Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I'm sure I'll be writing again before the year is over. If not, expect the next entry in 2010.
Amie has had a bug in her stomach for the past couple of days. We don't know what brought on the diarrhoa. I certainly don't want her to eat anything in Godda except food. She lived on boiled banana for a whole day yesterday and today, hopefully, she will be able to consume some "real" food. Of course, for her real food is chocolates!
The kids haven't come to school because the final exams finished yesterday and we declared today a holiday. Bhola will bring some printed report cards from Godda and we will be handing out results on Monday. All the kids in classes 3 and 4 have passed. Some kids in classes 1 and 2 have failed. And almost half of nursery has failed! So we will only be able to admit 10 new kids for next year if those who failed stay on. Admissions of the old children will take place on the 8th. Then we'll know how many kids are going to be re-admitted to school. There's some rumours that quite a few Burhikura kids are planning to join the school in Devdand. I don't know why. But I presume it's because they aren't able to cope with the standard of education here. In fact, most of the children who failed in the lower classes are from Burhikura. But now that we are switching to Hindi medium, perhaps they will stay?
Personally, I feel school did not go very well this year because of lack of teachers. Even though the class 4 children did a much better job of teaching than any "teacher" we hired, somehow the parents of the children -- especially the ones from Burhikura, did not take them seriously. Could this be one reason why they have decided to send their children to Devdand? We'll know on the 8th. Sometimes rumours are just that -- rumours.
There will be no Class V next year. Lalita and Prahlad are going to join Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Devdand. Radha, Anajana and Kartik have decided to take private tuitions in a coaching class in Devdand and then appear for their Matric Exams. Raiman wishes to join the mission school in Agiya Mor but since his father isn't here, he said he will stay at home for a year before resuming his studies. But won't he forget everything in a year's time? Hence, we've come up with a solution for him. He'll be coming to school here like he used to. He'll teach the Nursery children for an hour and half and then hang around and study till school is over. We'll pay him a small amount for teaching Nursery. This way he can save up money for his schooling and also stay in touch with studies.
We have also decided to retain Kartik and Radha as "teachers". They can come to teach in the morning and go for their coaching classes in the evening. We'll give them an honorarium which will help them to buy books, pay for coaching, etc. Mitali, Bhola and I talked to them yesterday after the exams were over and they are very happy to continue being involved with the school.
I'm quite happy with this arrangement and so is everyone else.
On Monday Amie, Mitali and I are leaving for Kolkata. We hope to spend Christmas there. Mitali has invited us to a party a friend of her's is throwing. I haven't been to a party for ages and I'm quite looking forward to it. Amie is glad that she will be able to spend that time in a city where she can be online and in touch with her family. She's looking forward to the party and to meeting a few new people. Bhola is also leaving with us. But he's going to Ranchi to pick up two of the laptops that Intel has donated. He'll be back on Wednesday. School will be closed meanwhile. From Thursday, however, the children will be coming to school and familiarizing themselves with the new books and also so a bit of "shram daan" around the project. The trees need to be watered, grass needs to be cut and the new classrooms cleaned up in preparation for next year.
Amie will be back on the project on the 27th. I'll return on the 30th with Neera Kapoor, a friend and also one of Dakshinayan's Trustees. This will be her first visit to the project. She'll spend a couple of days here. She and I will then return to Kolkata from where she will catch a flight to Delhi. I'll stay on till the 6th and then return to the project with Dani and Tak and then perhaps stay on till the end of the month.
One of the reasons why I have not been writing the blog is that I have been away from the project quite often. And another reason is that while I'm here, I've been quite ill. In fact, I have just recovered from yet another bout of malaria. Come to think of it, I've actually been continuously unwell since the start of November! Hopefully, I will stay well over the coming days. I don't wish to miss the Christmas party and I certainly don't will to be ill when we step in to the new year.
For the time being, I have shelved the idea of starting the orphanage/old age home. It will require a lot of commitment, energy and resouces and quite frankly I am not sure I am up to it at the moment. I'm thinking more along the lines of starting a vocational trainning school in Bolpur. Let's see how things shape up. But one thing I'm certain about is that I will no longer stay continuously on the project. I'll most likely set up base in Bolpur towards the start of 2010 and visit the project every now and then. I'm sure Bhola, Kartik and Radha and the volunteers will be able to run the show. And in any case, I'll be round the corner if I'm needed. I feel if we have just one more teacher, we will be all set to move into the new year at the new pace.
Well, that's all from me for the moment. Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I'm sure I'll be writing again before the year is over. If not, expect the next entry in 2010.
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